On Wednesday morning (12 November, 9:12 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific advanced, following a mixed session on Wall Street driven by optimism surrounding a possible resolution to the U.S. government shutdown and volatility in artificial intelligence-related stocks.
Investors are monitoring tech shares across the region, particularly following SoftBank’s disclosure that it had divested its entire holding in U.S. chipmaker Nvidia for $5.83 billion. The Japanese conglomerate is intensifying its focus on OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, reflecting its strategic “all in” commitment.
Notably, SoftBank Group’s shares plunged as much as 10% in the early trading session.
Japan’s NIKKEI surged by 0.32% to 51,007.43. South Korea’s KOSPI rose by 0.63% to 4,132.23, and Australia’s ASX 200 grew by 0.18% to 8,834.80.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC added 0.23% to 4,012.04. Hong Kong’s HSI gained 0.68% to 26,876.86, while Shenzhen’s SZI declined by 0.20% to 13,261.83.
The U.S. stock markets were mixed on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) expanded by 1.18% to 47,927.96. S&P 500 climbed by 0.21% to 6,846.61, while NASDAQ lost 0.25% to 23,468.30. VIX dropped by 1.82% to 17.28.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Tuesday, buoyed by U.S. sanctions targeting Russian crude exports and renewed optimism that the prolonged U.S. government shutdown could soon come to a close. Gains were capped, however, by ongoing concerns regarding excess supply in the market. Brent crude futures ended the session up $1.10, or 1.72%, to close at $65.16 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased 91 cents, or 1.51%, to settle at $61.04 a barrel.
This morning, Brent crude futures decreased 8 cents, or 0.12%, to $65.08 per barrel, and the WTI dipped 10 cents, or 0.16%, to $60.94 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures edged up by 0.57% to $4,139.60 per Troy ounce.
